Foreigners shot in argument in Philippines; German slain

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Assailants fatally shot Friday a German and wounded a Frenchman and an Indian inside a restaurant in the central Philippines in what appeared to be random violence, police said.

The pre-dawn shooting inside a McDonald’s restaurant followed a heated argument between two unidentified Filipino men and Indian Cheten Saparaiya, 32, and his friend Julian Millard, a 31-year-old Frenchman, said Talisay city police chief Reycel Carmelo Dayon.

The two foreigners are residents married to Filipino women. Millard’s wife was with them and overheard the men making fun of Saparaiya, triggering the argument. Police said the Filipino men returned with others who were armed and opened fire. German Henry Haffner, 31, was shot outside the restaurant and died at a hospital. The other two foreigners were wounded.

The suspects escaped and police distributed their images from closed-circuit TV to help catch them.

The Philippines has one of the highest homicide rates in Southeast Asia, fueled by a proliferation of firearms. The government has opposed a total gun ban but has called for tighter control.